Reflections on the role of language documentations in linguistic research

Abstract

I reflect the role of language documentations in linguistic research beyond its most common linguistic use as a high-quality database for descriptive work. I show that the original Himmelmann-ian conception of documentations, as multi-varied and multi-purpose, and to some extent community-driven, enable a range of research outcomes that would not have been foreseeable within the traditional descriptive, typological and theoretical agendas. I argue that it is overall more fruitful for innovative linguistic research to invest into the processing of haphazard language documentation data rather than attempting to collect precisely the kind of data demanded by specific analytic goals.